Deliverable 5.4 – Policy Navigator and Briefs- initial version – existing policies and regulations

The present report comprises the first version of the Policy Navigator and Briefs of the NBSOIL project, whosemain goal is to analyse the policy instruments and requirements which directly or indirectly influence soilhealth at the European level. In other words, this document aims to provide a clear and comprehensivepicture of the extent to which soil health has been considered in EU strategies, action plans, directives,regulations, and support mechanisms.This report begins with a short introduction that highlights the invaluable role played by healthy soils, interms of their capacity to provide vital ecosystem services and outlines the history of policy attempts madeat the EU level to safeguard this natural resource.The methodology followed to carry out this study is then described. In this regard, academic journal articleshave been instrumental in identifying the most relevant policies to examine. However, the most importantdocuments we have consulted and relied on were official EU policy documents.